Your logo is the visual embodiment of your brand. Make it meaningful. Make it memorable. Make it ROCK. We can help. That’s what we do!

Logos that rock. Nothing less!

Your logo is the visual embodiment of your brand. Make it meaningful. Make it memorable. Make it ROCK. We can help. That’s what we do!

Branding – Strategy Development and Execution

Taking your company branding to new heights!

You’ve probably heard the statement “marketing is what you do, branding is what you are” at some point in your life. The practice of branding your company is one of the most important aspects of your marketing program. The process has evolved in recent years, and while years ago it was defined as your company’s name, slogan, symbol, sign or design, it’s now far more complex to pin down. As masters of the art of modern branding, the team at The Marketing Machine unpacks the terminology for you.

What Branding Is

Branding is the process of developing a unique name and personality for a company, devising ways to disseminate the company’s purpose to customers and implementing it in the market in ways that differentiate you from your competitors. That’s not to say it doesn’t include graphic elements, such as a brand logo design, and a promise to your audience. It’s a complex meshing of several different disciplines intended to establish your presence in the market, while attracting and retaining customers.

Developing a Brand Strategy

Branding begins with the development of a customized strategy, aimed at reflecting the values you offer your customers, sharing the uniqueness of your product or service and building trust with your target audience.

To kick-start your strategy, we work with you to brainstorm how you want your customers to view the company. We analyze your current status in your market, and what’s needed to take the image of your business where you want it to go.

Armed with this intelligence, we’ll tap into the expertise and knowledge base of our team to compile an action plan aimed at achieving your branding objective.

Elements of Branding

A sound branding strategy contains a number of critical elements, all of which will need to be identified and developed. These include:

Positioning

This is a core component of your strategy, and it determines how your company is viewed against others in the same industry. It highlights who you serve, what you do and how you do it, and where you fit in terms of price, quality and success compared with your competitors.

Developing your positioning requires you to capture a clear picture of your target audience and your unique differentiators, which are essential for other aspects of your strategy, such as your brand logo design.

Promise

Defining your brand’s promise is the process of clarifying and developing ways to promote what your company does.

What problem does your product or service solve for your customer?

What standards do you set for the company’s performance?

How well do you live up to those?

If your brand promise is to provide a top-notch, seamless service to clients, the expectations of your audience could be much higher than if your brand promise is for a discount, budget-rate service.

Differentiators

Your brand differentiator is the aspect of your product or service that makes your company unique, and is usually the main reason why a client chooses you ahead of a competitor.

Your differentiator is also sometimes called your value proposition or your unique selling proposition (USP). It usually communicates a specific benefit to the client and comprises a unique claim that no other competitor can make. It’s the ultimate reason why customers choose you to purchase from.

Personality

Determining the personality of your brand requires creation of a corporate identity by which your company will be known and recognized. Is your personality professional, formal and a little conservative, or do you prefer to think of your company as young, hip and on the cutting edge?

By giving your brand human traits, you make it easier to recognize and remember. Once your personality is developed, you’ll be able to apply these traits to create a logo design representing the image you want to project.

Storytelling

Telling the story of your brand isn’t merely about how the company came into existence or the background of the founder. It also encompasses the issues you believe in, the principles your company stands for and the philosophy that governs your work. It’s a truthful narrative about how you touch people’s lives in real ways, the communities your brand is part of and what you do to connect with both your customers and the community.

One of the most common examples of branding is that of Coca-Cola, whose name is synonymous with the well-known advertising that appeals to people’s emotions: “Things go better with Coca-Cola” and “Share a Coke – Share a Feeling.”

Custom Logo Design

Whether it’s a graphic icon that captures the spirit and culture of your business/organization, or an original type treatment design that expresses your unique personality, a custom logo will set you apart and set the tone for who you are as a company.

Ultimately, your logo is your principal branding element. Make sure it connects with your customers. Before setting out to create a new logo, our design team meets with you and other stakeholders within your company to extract the essence of your brand, the long-term vision for your company and what you hope your new logo will communicate.

Your logo should not, and will not, look like anyone else’s logo.

With clarity and alignment, our creative process can begin. We explore a range of solutions, coming at it from every possible angle, and the end result is a completely original brand logo design that no one else can claim or copy.

Applying Your Brand

Once we’ve devised a brand you’re happy with, the next step is to apply it across all your marketing and operational practices. From updating your website and company stationery, through refreshing your signage and advertisements, your new brand will affect every aspect of your company’s public persona.

The Marketing Machine specializes in creating insightful, purposefully designed branding, identity and logos that will serve your company for years to come. Sound good? Let’s get started.

Some of Our Custom Logo Designs

Our Logo Design Creative Process

STEP 1:Discover

We want to know everything about your brand. Our discovery process consists of a detailed questionnaire, in-person team member interviews and discussions on how you, your customers and your competitors perceive your brand.

5-8 business days

STEP 2:Develop

After the discovery phase, our strategists develop a creative brief that serves as a roadmap for logo design. The goal is to make sure we’ve heard and accurately captured your input and ideas and are heading in the right direction.

2-3 business days

STEP 3:Create

Our creative team researches, sketches, brainstorms and explores a wealth of concepts that are fresh, unusual and bold, yet always on strategy. Typically, a handful of logos and ideas will rise to the top and begin to take shape.

10-15 business days

STEP 4:Deliver

We’re ready to meet and put our best ideas on the table. We’ll share our overall approach and provide a framework for judging the logos, give you a few days to review the designs, and with your feedback, our team will make the final tweaks. Once we arrive at a selected design, we’ll polish up and then package for launch.

Think beyond stock footage and images. Under TMM’s creative leadership, our teams work with talented directors/editors and photographers to bring your original videos, motion graphic commercials and ad campaigns to life.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We have worked with The Marketing Machine on numerous projects over the years from brochures, to logos, to websites and branding. Without a doubt, the results have always been amazing. Paul has a keen sense of what his clients are looking for, and he guides his team to deliver great products that meet a customer's expectations and budget.

NCRMA – North Carolina Retail Merchants Association

The most exciting thing is we would have a meeting, we would leave with objectives, they would leave with objectives. When we came back, we were always surprised, and always pleasantly surprised...they never missed the ball.

Ed Boiar

Delve Interiors

TMM has performed beyond our expectations, acting like a true marketing partner...helping us stay on top of opportunities...

Pamela Scherer

Blue Ridge OB/GYN

We have been working with The Marketing Machine since 2011 and during that time, they have become an extension of our staff. They take the time to listen and work collaboratively, while providing new and innovative ideas to help increase brand awareness. We are fortunate to work with such a dynamic, fun and creative team that delivers top notch service.

Sharla Seidel

The Canine Health Foundation

Paul and his team at The Marketing Machine are absolutely amazing at what they do. I needed my corporate identity redesigned, sales material, and a new website. Paul took me through the process and made sure we met the deadlines that had been set. The designs and the experience was far better than I could have imagined. For the best design work, with true professionals, I highly recommend The Marketing Machine.

Braxton Bell

Owner, Braxton's Auto Advantage

I just wanted to say thank you for the great work on the website design; I'm so pleased with everything! But above all, I want to say thank you for even coming in below my budget!!! Thanks for another great job!!!

Ann Sun

Owner, A. Sun Designs

We can't wait to hear from you! Call us today at 919.460.7978 to learn more.